Kompa: the heartbeat of Haiti
Wherever Haitians gather, sooner or later someone plays kompa. The steady beat, the bright guitars, and the horns are known from Port-au-Prince to Miami, Montreal, Paris, and New York.
1955: a new rhythm
Kompa, also written konpa or compas, was created in 1955 by the saxophonist and bandleader Nemours Jean-Baptiste. He built on the Haitian méringue and gave it a regular, easy pulse that dancers loved. He called it compas direct.
From big bands to mini-jazz
His great rival, Webert Sicot, answered with his own style, cadence rampa, and their competition filled dance floors for years. In the 1960s and 1970s, smaller groups known as mini-jazz, led by electric guitars, carried the music to a new generation. Bands such as Tabou Combo took it around the world.
A dance for two
Kompa is danced close, in pairs, with small, smooth steps. It has shaped other Caribbean styles, including zouk, and it keeps renewing itself with each generation of musicians in Haiti and in the diaspora.
